The SetupAfter
about 125 hours of loosely structured break-in time, I found a spot
about one-and-one-half feet from the front wall, two feet from the
sidewalls, with about seven feet between the speakers for my GR 20s.
The rears were put into place using kite string from the TV to find the
radius that would work for both rear speaker positions. The center
channel sat nicely on top of the TV. Although you can use the high pass
filter in the subwoofer by connecting the surrounds through the speaker
terminals on the sub, I chose to bypass this feature, as I felt that
even though the setup was a tad more tedious, I liked the results
better. Besides, if you want to use this feature, you’ll need an extra
set of speaker cables. I prefer to minimize the number of connections
between components unless a sizeable benefit can be attained, and this
wasn’t the case here. I set the subwoofers in the corner side by side.
I then used a Kenwood VR-4090 A/V receiver for the driving electronics
and a Toshiba SD 9100 progressive scan DVD player for the source. The
Kenwood puts out 120 watts for all five channels and should drive the
monitors pretty well. Although 88 dB-89 dB is not the most efficient
load to drive, a good 100=watt amp should make these speakers perform
well. All of the Gold series have a generous power handling capability
of 100 to 300 watts.

I must say that the Gold Series is a
handsome speaker. Its small footprint is very unobtrusive. In my case,
putting anything in the living room that wasn’t aesthetically pleasing
would most likely be met with disdain by the finance department, namely
my wife. These speakers get the nod with what I call "High Spousal
Acceptance Factor," or "HSAF".

Movies and MusicThe
first movie I used in my evaluation was Dinosaur (Walt Disney Home
Video). In Chapter 6’s meteor strike, the Monitor Audios captured the
subtle sounds of the meteors falling just prior to the large meteor
impact. The sound of the shockwave as it moved front to back was very
dynamic and detailed, blending seamlessly between speakers.

Did I mention how dynamic these speakers are? Don’t let size fool you.
I have never heard the scene in Saving Private Ryan (DreamWorks DTS)
when the Allied forces are storming the beach as I heard it with the
Monitor Audios. The bullets hitting metal had me literally ducking for
cover in my own living room. The explosions threatened to do the same
damage to my house as they did in Normandy, with explicitly detailed
information that never once sounded congested or overwhelmed. The
center channel did a great job handling all of the information it was
given. Its ability to sort out all of the complex sounds was done
without ever sounding harsh or strained. I didn’t notice any lobbing
effect that you can get from horizontally laying down a
vertically-arrayed driver. This would be noticed by moving off-angle
from the center channel and noting drop-off regions, if any, as you
walk. No lobbing effects were apparent in any of the listening sessions
I had. The horizontal and vertical dispersion of the Monitor Audio Gold
center was very good. Having the drivers running at a different
bandwidth solves this nicely.

The subs’ extreme levels of output tended to overload my wood floors,
threatening to dislodge me from my couch. Having the subs sitting
together in the corner may have aggravated the situation. Putting one
of the subwoofers in another part of the room alleviated some of this
setup problem. De-coupling the enclosure of the sub from the floor by
placing it on a piece of wood of the same size as the sub, then
supporting the wood at the corners with small foam blocks and setting
the sub on this arrangement, helped quite a bit. The resonance I had
experienced prior to this was taken care of and the audible bass
control was much better. I would have preferred to install such
powerful subwoofers on a cement floor, but that was impossible in this
situation.

On low-level information, I used the scene from Gladiator (DreamWorks)
where the Commodus and his sister are traveling to the war front at the
request of Caesar in their luxury wagon. You can hear the subtle creaks
and groans all around you, which makes you feel like you are in the
wagon with them.

Upon watching many a DVD, I realized that the Monitor Audio Gold
Reference loudspeaker system provides a audibly seamless presentation.
Never did I feel like one speaker made itself known out of the mix.
This is likely the effect of successful driver matching and the lack of
distortion in the ceramic drivers. The polite and musical nature of
this Monitor Audio speaker system makes it amenable to many a music and
film enthusiast.

Next,
I used some DTS recorded music DVD-Audio discs. One of these is a Steve
Stevens DVD-Audio recording called Flamenco A Go-Go (DTS
Entertainment). This is a 5.1 channel recording that has both lossy DTS
surround and DVD-Audio MLP (Meridian Lossless Packing) surround on it.
My Toshiba DVD-Video player isn’t capable of playing back the MLP
version of the record, but the lossy version, which some enthusiasts
prefer, was simply excellent. The high-resolution capability of DTS
disc really shines on this live recording of this ex-Billy Idol
guitarist as he plays his own interpretive style of flamenco. The
guitar sounds lush and detailed as Stevens works his way through the
complex musical structure of each song. The resonant sounds of the
strings’ vibration are captured with all of the leading-edge transients
that give their presence a life-like sound. The mix has most of the
music coming from the mains and center channel, with echo,
reverberation and audience participation coming from the rear channels.

The Monitor Audio’s musical midrange purity is captivating and is
possibly its best characteristic. The Gold Reference really grabs your
attention and makes you want to hear more, more, more. So more I gave
it. This time, I wanted to see how it performed in two-channel land. I
swapped out my trusty Kenwood receiver and Toshiba DVD player for my
reference Audio Research CD2, Audio Research LS2B MKII pre-amp, and
Bryston 7B-ST’s. First up was Collective Soul’s latest effort, Blender
(Atlantic). "Why Pt.2" opens with kick drum, a solid bass line and
ripping power chords, and the GR20s instantly surprised me. What a
difference equipment makes. The presentation was very alluring, and the
soundstage was pinpoint-accurate and three-dimensional. The GR 2’s were
right up there with my reference Dunlavy SCIVs in their ability to
reproduce a nice, wide soundstage. The GR 20s didn’t have the base
control or the timbre accuracy of the SCIVs, but they aren’t in the
same price range, either. The GR 20s does very well with female voices,
such as Dido’s No Angel (Arista). Although the high-frequency
transients are rolled off in comparison to the SCIVs, the midrange of
the GR20s does a very nice job of conveying the sibilant and breathy
voice on "My Lover’s Gone." I haven’t heard it quite like that on the
SCIV’s and it is very agreeable. Dido’s voice hangs suspended between
the speakers, while a diffuse soundscape seems to allow her voice to
float on the currents of music. The mids and upper harmonics had a
sweet character that could be a little soft, but nonetheless enjoyable
and most definitely musical.